Stamp-placing machine



A. E. M MILLAN STAMP P ACING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1923 2 Sheets-She'et l Tin l mi IN VENTOR A lfr'ew E. Nomi/1m iivww ATTORNEYS IN VEN TOR ATTORNE Y8 Alfred E ma/wzzm;

i the followingto beafull. clear, and exact.

y the 'machine there operated for severing the stamp as it is being applied; to avoid use of felt. or other wipers for moistening the I of Fig. 3 looking in the by the arrows: and

Patented May 5, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT or FICE.

' ALFRED E. MoMILLAiN, OF NEW YORK, N. vY. I

STAMP-PLACING Macrame.

7 Application filed July 14, 1923. Serial No. 651,579.

To all whom it may 00mm:

Be it known that I, ALFRED E. MoMrL- LAN, a subject of'Great Britain, residing at New York. in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp- Placing Machines; and I do. hereby declare description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in: the art to which it appertains to make. and use the same.

This inventionrelates to stamp placing machines and more particularly to the hand operated type which is. placed uponan envelop where the stamp. is to be affixed and stamp and applying itto the envelop.

The'objectsot this invention are .to provide improved means for severing the stamp from the roll anrlapplyingl it to the envelop orthe like to provide improved positive feedffor thesta-mp; to moisten each in which like numerals of. reference indi caste similar parts throughout theseveral:

views,

Figuresl and .2 v

apposite sides of the device;

Figure 3 is an edge view lookingin the direction indicated by arrow (3) of Fig. 1;

Fi ure a isv an ooaosite edge view look- I a I I a mg n the direction ndicated by arrow (4) Figure 5 is asectionalview on line 55 ,Figure 6 is a similarsectional view showing theparts in depressed position.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawings the reference numeral 1 indicates a housing which is U-shape in cross-section and has projecting from the upper end a collar 2 upon which I with each other.

are elevations looking at" direction indicated is slidably mounted a handle 3. Handle 3 is secured by means of bolt 4 passing through the collar and the upper end ofthe housing. to a slidablemember 5 which is arranged within said housing'and engages the side walls thereof. The slidable memher 5 is constructed to" provide a stamp engaging facet atits lower end by means of which pressure may be exerted upon the st: mp for causing the stamp to come in proper contact with the envelop or the like in order to become affixed thereto: 1 The U-shaped housing 1 is provided with a bottom plate 7 having an opening 8 preferably the same size as the bottom 6 of the; slidable niemberso that when the slidable member is depressed the bottomv thereof substantially fills the-opening S in the bottom plate of the housing. The slidable member carries a knife 9' which co-operates with a similar. knife 10 on the bottom plate 7 extending along one edge of the openingS whereby depression of the slidable member willseven a stamp fromthe roll of stamps (not shown) as the knives come in contact The roll of stamps maybe mounted within the housing andsl dable member, and for thispurpose a bolt 11 is provided transversely from side to side of the housing extending through suitable vertical slots 12 in the slidable member so as notto interfere with movement of said slidable member and at'the same time provide a support fixed with respect to the housing for the stamps. It is tobe understood that this bolt 11 may be. removed. so as to enable the same to be inserted through the center of the roll of stamps. A guide platel3 extends from sub stantially' opposite the bolt ll downwardly toward the bottom plate 7 so as to bring the stamps as :they are unwound to a position registering with the opening in the bottom plate. This guide plate maybe made'in any suitable manner and by way of illustration Iha-ve shown the same provided with flanges 14: which will receive the edges of the strip of stamps coming from the roll-and retain the same next to the body portion of the guide plate. In order to insure easier movement of the stamps, a roll 15 is shown at the upper end of the guide plate.

1 In order to obtain an intermittent feeding of the stripot stamps froni the roll I pro: vide a pushing device in the nature ofa pawl or ratchet which will feed the stamps onward as the slidable member rises, thus placing a new stamp in position over the opening 8 immediately after the previous stamp has been affixed. In order to provide such a pawl, I preferably pivot a first class lever 16 at one side of the housing and pivot a corresponding arm 17 at the opposite side of the housing, the lever and arm having pivots 18 and 19 respectively in alinement with each other. The lever and arm 16 and 17 project in thesame general direction beyond the edge of the housing and are connected at their outer ends by means of. across rod 20. The lever 16 is slotted as at 21 atits inner end, the slot engaging over a pin 22 projecting through a vertical slot 23 in the housing. The pin 22 is connected to the slidable member 5 so that up and down movement of the slidable member will result in a swinging movement of said lever 16. At about the middle of said cross rod is pivotally carried a pawl 2a which is actuated by a suitable spring 25 shown upon the rod 20 pressing the end of the pawl toward the guide plate 13. It may be here observed. that the radius of curvature of the guide plate has its center on the axis of pivoting of the arm and lever so that the pawl will follow around the guide plate when the arm and lever are swung upon their axis.

In order to hold the stamps so they will not be disturbed or retracted while the pawl is travelling upwardly on the guide plate, I provide a holding finger 26 which proj ects inwardly through a slot 27 in the housing at substantially the end of the guide plate 13 and operated from the outside of the housing by means of a bell-crank lever 28. the same pivot 19 as arm 17 and provides an arm 29 having a slot 30 within which rides a pin 31 projecting outwardly through a slot 32 in the housing and secured to the slidable member 5. By this means it will be observed the bell-crank lever 28 will be swung as the slidable member is depressed and such swinging of the bell crank lever operates to depress finger 26. A suitable spring 33 is arranged to hold the finger 26 in proper position when not operated upon by the cam.

In order to moisten the stamps immediately before application thereof, I provide a water container (34, preferably of glass, which may have formed therewith or may be connected to a very fine outlet 35 on the bottom plate 7 adjacent opening 8 in such position as to direct the water ejected therefrom beneath the stamp before it is cut off and pressed down. In the structure shown, the water container is provided with a rubber bulb 36 at its upper end, the bulb having a transverse yoke 37 extending across the same by which pressure may be exerted in thecontainer. The yoke is shown held with- Said bell-crank lever 28 is pivoted on in a hook or bracket 38 at one end and in engagement with a slide bar 39 at its other end. The slide bar 39 extends downwardly on the outside of the housing and has an inwardly directed projection -10 at its lower end inserted through a slot ll in the housing. This projection l0 underlies a ram &2 pivotally mounted on the inside of the housing adjacent the slidable member 5. A suit-- able finger as projects from the cam into an opening id in the slidable member, the parts being so arranged that vertical movement of the slidable member 5 will operate upon said finger 43 to swing the cam which in turn engages projection L0 on the slide bar. In this manner, every time the slidable member is depressed the parts operate to squeeze bulb 36 and eject a drop of water through opening 35 beneath the stamp. For the purpose of admitting air into the container and bulb when the external pressure is relieved and the bulb resumes its normal shape, I have shown an inlet valve 45 which opens into said container immediately below the bulb. The valve will not admit air passing outwardly when the bulb is compressed but will admit air entering when the bulb expands.

Operating the slidable member downwardly is obtained by manually depressing the handle 3, and in order to retract the slidable member or raise it again a suitable spring 46 is provided between said handle and the housing. This spring is preferably contained within the collar 2 and is also protected by means of a telescopic ferrule 47 attached to the handle and sliding over said collar 2.

Obviously detail changes and modifications may be made in manufacturing my 1 improved stamp placing machine, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself except as set forth in the following claims when construed in the light of the prior art.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A stamp placing machine comprising a housing, means for supporting a roll of stamps therein, pawl operated means for intermittently feeding said stamps, means for injecting water beneath the stamp to be aiiixed, means for pressing the stamp in place, and a holding finger for preventing retraction of the strip of stamps.

2. A stamp placing machine comprising a housing, means for supporting the roll of stamps therein, pawl operated means for in termittently feeding said stamps, means for injecting water beneath the stamp to be applied, means for pressing the stamp in place, a holding finger for preventing retraction of the strip of stamps, and cooperating knife blades for severing said stamps from the roll.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, one of said knife blades being fixed, and the other movable in a vertical plane and being simultaneously operated with said Water injecting means. i

at. A stamp plaeingniechine comprising a housing means for supporting a roll of stamps therein, pawl operated means for intermittently feeding said stamps, a bulb for injecting Water beneath the stamp to be affixed, means for pressing the stamp in place,

e holding finger for preventing retraction of the strip of stamps, cooperating knlfe lnndes for severing the stamps from said roll. and. valved means for admitting air to ALFRED E. MOMILLA N. i 

